


Harry's Music

by AlexNichole



Series: True Love Sings [1]
Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: M/M, Music, playlists
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-26
Updated: 2013-01-26
Packaged: 2017-11-27 00:58:15
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,469
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/656261
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlexNichole/pseuds/AlexNichole
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Louis finds Harry's iPod, giving us (and him) an inside look to the relationship.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Harry's Music

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote one of these for another fandom and a friend and I decided a Larry one would be good too. She made up the entire playlist for this and I just put it one shuffle and wrote as the songs came on. I think she did a fabulous job of picking music for Harry. 
> 
> Her name is Cassie and this is her Tumblr: alohomoralarry.tumblr.com
> 
> Mine: insomniacswithcoffee.tumblr.com
> 
> You'll find a complete list of songs (in order of appearance) on the end notes.

Louis threw himself down on the bed, not much enjoying the way he felt. The other boys were all down at the bar, but he just felt better up here, away, for now. Rolling over in the scratchy hotel sheets his elbow found something hard. Pulling it out, he was pleased to find Harry’s iPod. Nothing like a little musical adventure in his love’s playlist to lighten his mood. 

Hitting shuffle, he was unsurprised to hear ‘Look After You.’ Harry sang it all the time, and if Louis looked hard enough, Harry probably had his cover from when he was younger. Enjoying the moment he sat up and crossed his legs. Letting the song play through Louis could only think about how many times Harry had whispered these lyrics to him. 

The next song was somewhat of a switch. Haz loved Florence + the Machine, and this was the song he got ready to most mornings. He couldn’t explain, he just sad it pumped him up. “Louder than sirens, louder than bells. Sweeter than heaven, hotter than hell” The lyrics were almost scary, and Louis wondered what Harry could possibly find to like about this song. It was all about being overwhelmed. Personally, Louis felt that way all the time, without the help of anything else. 

Stabbing his thumb down onto the next button, Louis hoped he hadn’t made the wrong decision by going through Harry’s iPod. He knew Harry wouldn’t care at all. That wasn’t the problem. The problem was how much you could tell about a person simply by their music. And Louis was starting to think that there were things he didn’t want to know yet. 

Sighing a little when ‘Use Somebody’ started Louis laughed. Of course Harry would have this song. His voice sounded like sex when he sang it, and he knew it, too. Still smiling, he clicked next. This was an adventure, not a “get as horny as you can because Harry’s voice” session. 

Louis laid his head on the pillow and curled into himself while he listened to the next song. He didn’t even know Harry liked this song at all. The lyrics seemed to surround him. “I belong with you, you belong with me, you’re my sweetheart.” Suddenly, Harry calling Louis sweetheart kind of took on new meaning. Again, Louis felt like he was learning things he didn’t really want to know. 

Sure, he loved Harry, but Harry was 18, and Louis knew his mind could change. As it was, they were fighting a losing battle with management. Not to mention all the hate he knew would come if it if they came out. Louis would be able to deal, but he couldn’t handle the thought of what would happen if anything pushed Harry too far. 

‘Set Fire to the Rain’ had started sometime during Louis’ musings, and he smiled a bit at the memory of Harry and him singing this while walking out to the tour bus. It had been pouring rain, and Paul was mad because the boys had all stopped to play in it. Harry had grabbed Louis’ hand and starting singing, splashing in puddles. Every time Adele sang ‘set fire to the rain’ Harry would pull out his lighter and watch the flame stutter in the falling water. Then he would touch Louis face dramatically and they would laugh. The other boys joined in eventually, but that first moment had been heaven. Just him and Harry. Louis had longed to reach out and kiss Harry. The other boys were used to it, but it was the paparazzi, the fans, and the security that stopped him. Kisses were for private time; when they were alone, in the dark. 

Louis’ sad mood only worsened when the next song started. ‘White Blank Page’ was Harry’s most played song, and somehow, it made Louis think of Eleanor. El was such a nice girl and she didn’t deserve anything that was happening to her. Honestly, she was Louis’ very best friend (besides Harry and the boys) and what had started out as a job for her had become more of paid hangout sessions that they both quite enjoyed. There had been times, in public, that Louis had denied Harry’s touch, or his look, because he was with El. Because he had too. Harry had no fault in loving Louis with his whole heart, none at all. Mostly, Louis believed he himself was at fault. 

‘Chasing Cars’ was another Harry classic. He knew all the words, and he’d made Niall learn the guitar chords so they could all sing it. Louis kind of knew how to play it on piano and the other boys sang beautiful harmony. It made Louis think about all the text massages. All the cute ones when they were two rooms apart because the fans had swarmed the hotel and it wasn’t “safe” for them to be together. Harry always texted “Would you lie with me and just forget the world? Forget what we’re told, before we get too old. Show me a garden that’s bursting into life.” Louis would wake Liam and make him text Niall and Zayn and Josh to make a distraction, and then he would sneak out, into Harry’s room. They’d hide for hours in the bathroom, with the door locked. Just lying there, nothing more, nothing less, with fingers intertwined. Being near to one another was enough. 

Louis smiled a little as he skipped over both One Direction albums and Ed’s album. He knew how much Harry supported Ed, and how much Harry loved his boys. Of course he’d have those. 

‘Brother’, by Matt Corby had always been one of those songs that unsettled Louis. It just made him feel anxious. Just the way it was so high, and low, and jumpy and it made his heart hurt for god knows why. Harry loved this song though, but he never sang it. Not even jokingly. He took it very seriously. Louis knew it meant something to him, but Harry never said what. Harry never talked about it. You could tell when it came on though. Harry’s face would kind of pinch up, and worry lines would sprout. Louis almost wished he knew why. 

Again, Louis found himself wondering why he’d even done this. ‘Never Say Never’ by the Fray was playing now, and Louis frowned. Once, he and Harry had fought. They’d fought hard. Paul had even stepped out, uncomfortable with the tears and yelling. Niall had almost run scared, and Liam, always the peacekeeper, tried to reason with them, but to no avail. The fight had had no real purpose. Both were upset for various reasons, and between the tour stress, fans, and management always pulling them apart, they’d just snapped, and chosen to take it out on each other. 

Somehow, Zayn had done almost the same thing Louis had done a few minutes ago, and rolled on Harry’s iPod. Except when he did it the lead singer had been almost shouting “Don’t let me go” over and over and Louis had collapsed to the ground, putting shaking hands over his blotchy, tear stained face. Harry had knelt down and hauled Louis back to his feet pulling him into him. Harry’s tears had left streaks in Louis’ hair, and he was shaking so hard he could barely stand, let alone hold onto Louis. Thinking back now, Louis wondered if Zayn had done it on purpose. 

Louis sighed at the memory. That had only been once. And they’d become stringer because of it. They were better now. Sure, they bickered, but they’d never had a fight close to that night, when he was sure that Harry had wanted to hit him, and Louis was pretty close walking out forever. 

The next song lifted his spirits a bit. Ellie Goulding was always good, but this song always made Harry smile. Sure, ‘Under the Sheets’ had a bit darker meaning than Harry or Louis really chose to read into but the line “under the sheets you’re killing me” had made them laugh when they’d first heard it, and Liam had blushed when he realized. Mostly, the other boys didn’t say anything about Harry and Louis’ sex lives. No one talked about anybody’s really. I mean, there were times, and they were comfortable enough to talk about it, but unless the conversation directly called for an outburst about someone’s sexual escapades, the boys mostly kept quiet about it. 

‘This Velvet Glove’ was a song that Louis just plain out didn’t understand. He didn’t understand much of anything by the Red Hot Chili Peppers, but most nights when Harry couldn’t sleep it was this song he played, or Augustana albums on loop. For the first time in a while Louis hit the next button. Until then, he’d let all the songs play through. 

Louis skipped ‘Paper Aeroplanes’ as well, because it was one of those songs that told a sad story, and he just didn’t understand Harry sometimes. It’s like the younger boy was deeper than 18, wiser than he should be. And maybe he was. Louis didn’t know. 

A strangled laugh echoed through the empty room when ‘Carry On My Wayward Son’ blasted at top volume. So many times they’d all gotten drunk (even Liam had a beer!) and sang this song at the top of their lungs. Bar keeps had thrown them out for it more than once. Usually, they bought as many bottles as they could carry and just continued in the hotel room until security would get a complaint about them from the hotel managers. But hell, they were young. And they weren’t hurting anyone. Louis smiled again at the memory. Even drunk, Niall could still play that song better than anyone he knew. 

Trying not to laugh too loud again (he really didn’t want anyone to find him, at this point) he clicked next and his smile instantly faded. This song made him cry; every time, no matter what. ‘Fix you’ always brought him to tears. This time was no different. He felt them prick at his eyes the minute he’s heard the first word. He swallowed hard, trying to ignore the growing lump in his throat. A single tear slipped out before he could hit next. 

‘Light of the Morning’ by Band of Skulls was one that Louis had heard countless times before. Harry usually woke him up to it, as well as a kiss, that usually led to a little more. They were always waking up at the crack of dawn, and Louis and Harry liked to watch the sunrise together if they weren’t preoccupied with each other’s mouths. He listened to it all the way through, leaving a mental note to learn all the words, so he could use them on Harry. 

‘She’s so lovely’ was one of the few songs Harry had that made Louis smile. Harry liked to sing it to fans as they walked by, often to girls who looked like they needed a self-esteem boost. He would point to them and sing “she’s so lovely, she’s so lovely, she’s so lovely” until the girl was blushing and stammering asking for an autograph. Harry was just that kind of person. He wanted to make people feel good. And those girls always went away with a little something more in their eyes. 

‘Little Bird’ from Ed’s album started playing and Louis didn’t pay much attention to it. His phone was buzzing, and the boys were asking where he was, a little drunkenly. Liam, the only sober one was the most coherent. 

“I’m fine.” Louis stated. “I just um, had a headache.” He flipped Harry’ iPod between his fingers, the volume turned lower so no one would hear it on the other end of the phone. “Yes, really.” He said again. “Alright, I’ll see you later.” The boys were going to stay at the bar for a bit more, probably because Niall had spotted some cute girl in the corner, Zayn was drunk dancing, and Harry was alone at the bar chatting to fans. He imagined Liam and Paul had given up hope of controlling them, instead letting them go loose and wild just a little. 

When Louis turned the volume up again he laid down on the bed and almost texted Harry to just come here right now. ‘Locked out of Heaven’ was his one weakness. He didn’t even like Bruno Mars that much but this song had captured a lot, and truth be told it kind of made Louis horny. But that could also be because it was in the background when Harry was trying to seduce him. Either way, he clicked next before someone walked in on him fantasizing. 

Previously, Louis had skipped over most of Harry’s Augustana collection, but this one held a special meaning. Harry always changed every ‘girl’ in the song to ‘Lou’s’ and when Louis couldn’t sleep he would whisper-sing it in his ear, strumming a fake guitar across his stomach. No matter how wide-awake Louis was he always fell asleep when this Harry did this. He just couldn’t help it. It was relaxing, and sweet. Hence the song name ‘Sweet and Low.’ 

Louis’ smile continued when ‘It’s Time’ came on. Louis liked the idea that the song presented. It was almost about leaving, but staying. Letting something begin, but letting something end as well. Like being the same, but changing. Singing along, he sat up again and let the song play through, drumming easily on his leg with one hand while he went through his Twitter feed. Niall had drunk tweeted about Zayn’s drunk dancing, and there was a rogue picture of Harry singing karaoke with a girl who looked like she’s probably used a fake ID to get in. There was even a picture of Paul and Liam looking buddy-buddy and Josh using barstools as a drum set. He realized his previous predictions about the night were probably right. 

As the song wound down he worried a little at the thought of what he learned about Harry, just by going through his iPod. Sure, he knew everything there was to know about the boy. For god’s sake they were lovers, but there’s something different about this, than when they talk. Music is emotional, and it sends a message. 

A song he didn’t recognize at all began playing, but he resigned to listen to it anyway. Glancing at the title but avoiding the next button he was a bit surprised. Pink Floyd. Harry had a Pink Floyd tattoo and his own boyfriend didn’t even recognize one of their songs. Louis was a little disappointed in himself, and made another mental note to change his amount of knowledge on Pink Floyd to be much greater than it is now. His patience was quickly running out with this song though, and he skipped it, just for now. Secretly, he knew he would probably never really like Pink Floyd and that he was kidding himself. It would just have to be one of Harry’s things. Because Louis had his things, and Harry had his, and that was okay. 

John Mayer was a little more Louis’ style and he sang along happily to ‘Waiting on the World to Change.’ He believed every word of this song, and it represented exactly what he was doing; waiting patiently, because someday something would change and it would all be okay. His attention span seemed to be getting shorter and shorter because he was only two minutes into the song and he was already itching to change it. Instead of fighting it, he gave in. 

‘Fight Song’ was another one of those things that Louis didn’t understand about Harry. The song didn’t even make sense for Christ’s sake. I mean, what were they evacuating from? Co-conspirators? Louis shook his head, and hit next, because he was far beyond even trying to understand some things. 

Louis skipped ‘Dog Days Are Over’ by Florence + the Machine because he already knew all the words, no thanks to Harry and Liam both. He like the song, but it was a bit overplayed on the tour bus. He skipped over another Augustana song as well. This time it was ‘Steal Your Heart’ and Louis enjoyed it but he wasn’t in the mood to sit here and imagine Harry singing it to him. He’d wait until Harry got here, and then make him sing it to him for real. Harry had a lot of Mumford and Sons, but that didn’t really surprise him. All the boys enjoyed Mumford. It was a shared love. 

Louis fell back into songs he didn’t quite recognize. This time, ‘Naïve’ by the Kooks. Louis knew the song a little because it was on the end credits of Seventeen Again and let’s face it, Zac Efron was a hot piece of ass and that movie was hilarious and uplifting all at the same time. He bobbed his head a little, but quickly lost interest. His attention span was becoming shorter and shorter by the second. 

Rise Against was a band that Louis didn’t really expect Harry to know. He knew the songs ‘Hero of War’ and ‘Savior’ but almost everyone knew those. Rise Against was a generally angsty band that Louis didn’t have much patience for. The only words his ears were picking up from the song were “make it stop” and he didn’t wait around to listen to anymore. His face lit up when He saw the name Lewis Watson. People on the internet called him the lovechild of someone or others voices in the band. Louis quite enjoyed him, but didn’t really feel it at the moment. Hitting next, he could hear people being rowdy in the hall. Half of him wished it was the boys; the other half hoped it wasn’t. ‘Animal’ by Miike Snow started playing just as Harry burst through the door, followed closely by Niall, Josh, Zayn, Liam, and Paul. 

Harry threw himself on the bed next to Louis, pushing him and making him lie down. Harry planted a kiss on Louis’ lips and Paul and Josh left. As much as they didn’t care, they really didn’t like PDA. Niall groaned and Louis heard him say something he couldn’t quite make out. Mostly because Harry’s mouth was nibbling his ear, but also because Niall’s thick accent got thicker the more he drank. 

“Oh, c’mon.” Zayn shouted, pelting the two lovers with a pillow. “Not tonight will ya. Listen to me!” He laughed when both Louis and Harry ignored him. “Listen to wot I’m sayn!” His Bradford accent was a little heavy tonight, and Liam mocked it almost perfectly. 

“We’ll just leave then.” Liam was still laughing at Zayn’s scandalized face, but Louis’ tongue had found the roof of Harry’s mouth and he was paying much attention to anything else. Liam ushered Zayn out and pushed Niall into the hallway. He stumbled but recovered and kept his arms above his head while he talked away to Josh, who probably didn’t understand a word but was too drunk to care. Liam poked his head back in and shouted, “Can I get you guys anything? Some snacks? A condom? Let me know! Oh, God love ya.” He laughed at his own reference and Harry pulled away from Louis so he didn’t laugh in his face and Louis shot Liam a perfect bitch face. 

“Bitch, please.” Louis stated, the sass clearly evident. He waved one hand in a “shoo-shoo” manner and Liam closed the door. Harry was still chuckling. 

“I love you, Lou.” He said, sliding his lips across the bare skin of Louis’ neck, making him shiver

“I love you too.” Louis answered. He kissed Harry again, and using all the knowledge he’d gained from his adventure into Harry’s playlist he whispered lyrics into Harry’s ear before rolling him over so Louis was straddling him. He let the kisses run slow and deep, until Harry’s lips were swollen and pink, and Louis was panting a little. Harry’ iPod was still playing, but someone had set it on the bedside table. ‘Sweet Disposition’ was quietly filling up the empty space in the room and Harry sang along, so low that Louis almost couldn’t hear him. Louis held Harry’s arms above his head, knowing the younger boy could easily over power him, and savoring the fact that he didn’t. Louis traced Harry’s tattoo ‘won’t stop till we surrender’ with his thumb. It made Harry shiver and giggle and Louis loved that. Sliding to the side, he wrapped his arms around Harry, and let Harry croon softly in his ear. 

“Won’t stop till it’s over.” He sang. “Won’t stop till it’s over. Won’t stop till it’s over. Won’t stop to surrender.”

Louis smiled in his sleep when Harry predictably started singing Augustana.

**Author's Note:**

> Look After You- The Fray  
> Drumming Song- Florence + the Machine  
> Use Somebody- Kings Of Leon  
> Ho Hey- The Lumineers  
> Set Fire To The Rain- Adele  
> White Blank Page-Mumford and Sons  
> Brother-Matt Corby  
> Never Say Never- The Fray  
> Under The Sheets- Ellie Goulding  
> This Velvet Glove- Red hot Chili Peppers  
> Paper Aeroplane- Angus and Julia Stone  
> Carry On My Wayward Son- Kansas  
> Fix You- Coldplay  
> Light of the Morning- Band of Skulls  
> She's so Lovely- Scouting For Girls  
> Little Bird- Ed Sheeran  
> Locked Out of Heaven- Bruno Mars  
> Sweet and Low- Augustana  
> It's Time- Imagine Dragons  
> Shine on You Crazy Diamond- Pink Floyd  
> Waiting on the World to Change- John Mayer  
> Fight Song- The Republic Tigers  
> Dog Days Are Over- Florence + the Machine  
> Steal You Heart- Augustana  
> Naive- The Kooks  
> Make It Stop- Rise Against  
> Animal- Miike Snow  
> Sweet Disposition- The Temper Trap


End file.
